a japanese folder and a changing view on knives

J

jacktrades_nbk

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Feb 7, 2007
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Guess this belongs here,

The last couple of weeks i started to carry and use some of my older knives, which i use to carry a lot a few years ago. Among those, there were a french douk douk, some alox SAKs, a few opinels, and a higonokami japanese folder. The japanese folder had some rust on the surface, so i cleaned it, forced a little patina for more protection by slicing some tomatoes and an onion, and in my pocket it went. Unbelieveble sharp...
Its weird how this year i used my small keychain saks and an alox soldier or farmer more than everything else i have gathered over the years. Now ill give this little fellow a chance, and for what i used it so far, it is a wonderful slicer, extremely sharp, even with that rust on surface, the edge was pristine, and pushed cut in paper easily. From what i've read, it is some carbon steel called aogami hagane (blue paper steel), also laminated with some softer carbon steel.
Anyway, im hoping my case peanut and medium stockman will arrive soon, as my philosophy and use in knives and knife carry is about to take a major turn.
Until then ill slice and dice with this japanese folder.
...Thinking about it, i guess i never changed my preferences, though i did tried, and now im coming back, feeling like i discovered something entirely new...
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I've looked at that style knife off and on over the years, but have never bought one. I'm thinking maybe today is the day to pull the trigger. Thanks for the information, guys.
 
as a plus, it can be easily opened with one hand, as i played with it all day.
About the sharpness again, this thing is like a straight razor, i've cut a hanging hair with just a swing, I find that weird because its never been sharpened, just stropped, and ive cut with it paper, plastic, and vegetables (for the patina), and the water from tomatoes for example didn't have any effect on the edge, and i let it soak for a good half an hour in that tomato juice, then put some mustard on it, let it for another 10 minutes or so. Still sharp. And as i said, it had rust on the sides, more like a red dust, but not on the edge.
Now im thinking it would look good with a nice pocket leather sheath...ill have to look into that.
 
a little update...
found again rust the next day on sides of the blade, suspected it was because the rough grinding marks, so i took some sandpaper and started to polish it. It all went ok, but in the process, i managed to dull the edge, and some sharpening was needed. Well, this carbon steel aogami is not your regular carbon steel, ill tell you that. It was a pain to sharpen, extremely hard, and i had to use the lightest pressure on the stones to prevent micro chipping. (i noticed that after many failed attempts of getting an edge on it) Now is acceptable sharp, but not how it was before. Guess ill have to work more on that edge.
 
I had me one of those. I'm not a fan of friction folders or saber ground blades, but I figured why not try it for $20. The blade is quite thick for its size, but it took an absolutely beautiful edge. My mom snatched it as soon as she saw it. She later yelled at me for giving her such a sharp knife. :D

- Christian
 
I remember seeing one of the off brand Higo style knives on Duluth and it looked interesting. But after seeing this and reading Mike's link I have to get me one. It looks like it would be pretty comfortable to pocket carry, would be interesting to see some comparison shots with other knives.
Definitely a unique piece, thanks for sharing.
 
This forum is such a bad influence on my already weak willpower.:o Been wanting to try a higonokami for a long time, and this thread finally pushed me over the edge.
The description in the linked article is accurate:
It is almost impossible to find one that is perfect and there seems to always be a detail that is wrong: scratches and imperfections on the blade, lever that doesn’t adjust well on the handle, grinds that aren’t symmetrical, file marks, scratched brass and so on… The finish is not finished, the back of the blade feels like a file and sharp angles make the knife unpleasant to grip.
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An inexpensive handmade knife, built as a tool. Interesting feel, much like a straight razor but with a very substantial handle. It will be interesting to see how it compares with my other two gardening knives.
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Why is there no Douk-Douk in that image? Hmmm? ;)
 
The simplicity of that knife is great, but when I was at a store that sold them I opted for another douk douk instead.

On a side note knife designer Laci Szabo has done a rendition of the higonokami.

Check it out:

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kozak6 said:
I've wondered about these for a while.

How do you guys carry them?
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I just drop mine in the pocket. The friction on the pivot is tight enough that it won't accidentally open. The only issue I have with it is that the thin metal handle is uncomfortable for any extended use. Otherwise they are neat little knives.
 
I have one as well and will need to get pics, I wasn't very happy with the finish on mine...came with burrs on the handle and the grind while sharp could use some tinkering, so I maintained a single bevel with no secondary as most japanese blades are and brought it to a mirror shine, VERY sharp. I also deburred the handle with a file and sand paper to bring it up to par.

I have paracord through the lanyard on my 80mm model.
 
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